• FreeTrainers.com Forums
• Women's Club
• Am I pushing the Limits Here?

Group: Women's Club

Am I pushing the Limits Here?

shene107 Posts: 54 Joined: 2004/03/16	2005/03/15, 08:57 AM I wake up every morning at 5 am and do a hour of cardio at the gym, 5 days a week. I've started adding weight training this week but i absolutely HATE it! Its so confusing to me. Its like do i lift heavy? Do i use a warm up set first? I'm confused.
princesslodgey Posts: 1,748 Joined: 2004/02/21	2005/03/15, 10:39 AM If you have kept the same amount of cardio and added the weights in on top, you've probably increased too much at once. Your body will be struggling to recover between sessions. I would suggest cutting back a bit on the cardio - either do weights on days you don't do cardio, or do a shorter cardio session after you've done your weights. It does depend a bit on what you're goals are - if you are looking mainly for fat loss and increased definition then 20-30 minutes of cardio is probably enough. Make your first set a warm up set - so choose a light weight that doesn't stress your muscles. For your subsequent sets choose a weight that makes it difficult for you to complete the last rep.
shene107 Posts: 54 Joined: 2004/03/16	2005/03/15, 04:21 PM Thanks for the help, i'll cut back and see what happens
JustinE22 Posts: 1,312 Joined: 2003/09/18	2005/03/15, 04:24 PM Are you getting something your stomach before doing cardio or weight training?
shene107 Posts: 54 Joined: 2004/03/16	2005/03/15, 04:27 PM um....no....i take it thats bad?:(
JustinE22 Posts: 1,312 Joined: 2003/09/18	2005/03/16, 12:53 AM yeah you want to get something in your body before doing any exercise, If your in a pinch for time then you can blend something up that way a liquid meal will digest quicker. By not getting anything in your body and exercising you are burning off just as much lean tissue as fat, which you never want muscle will burn fat 24/7 and it'll throw bf % off because you weight loss is coming from both fat and muscle equally. So try and get some fuel for your body before exercising.gl
shene107 Posts: 54 Joined: 2004/03/16	2005/03/16, 06:09 AM ok, thanks for the advice justin:big_smile:
	2005/03/16, 12:02 PM Going heavy is very relative....you need to go 'heavy enough'...just grab a weight you're comfortable with for about 10-12 reps....so by 12th rep for example you're barely able to complete it...if you can do 13 then it's too light...for example... I would stay in the 10-12 range....although 'heavy' can mean anything from 1 rep max to a certain weight you can do X times(e.g. 100 lb for 100 reps) You should probably do a light set of 30-50% of your 1 rep max...so generally a fairly light weight....and do a nice fluid set to warm up a muscle before proceeding to heavier weight...so for each body part you plan to do you should do at least 1 warm up set....and maybe 2 (making 2nd set maybe a little heavier...) Yea justin got a great point...you should eat some mix of simple/complex carbs about 30 minutes before hitting the gym for sustained energy....to help you push through the workout and prevent cannabolizing of your own muscles....as well as eating a mix of whey protein(or any protein on hand) along with simple carbs afterward....maybe in a ratio of 1 to 2....so 20-30 grams protein and 40-60 grams simple carbs....right after workout...like within 30-45 minutes....to get the most out of your workouts(you should do this even if you're on a diet....just maybe decrease the ratio to 1 to 1)......gl
sivysivy Posts: 391 Joined: 2005/02/11	2005/03/16, 12:44 PM You might see if you can get a trainer for just one session to show you how to use the weights. Sometimes gyms have this free as a one time thing.